html banners on my blog?

I just want clarification on a topic. I currently have my R&B music blog The ChokLit Factory that is hosted by Netfirms but I guess it is still hosted by WordPress.com – not sure how that works.

I was sent some information and media to my blog to promote an artist showcase. I was also given banners to put up on my site so my readers could click on them to learn more about the artist. They sent over 3 types of codes; one was flash iframe tags, one was basic html and one was bbcode, which I am not sure what that is.

I tried to post the html code through a text box on my widgets tool and it automatically deleted a portion of the tag that would allow it to work. I assume I cannot post these types of ads on WordPress. What is my alternative? I’ve learned that I should use WordPress.org software. Do I download that software and then install it on my Netfirms domain? Just wanted some clarity before I embark on all of this. I do want more flexibility so that I can have Clients send me media I can post, so is moving off of WordPress.com my best bet?